When a vehicle towing a trailer or the like is backed up, undesired and unintended contact can occur between the trailer and the rear of the vehicle.
This can occur when a relatively sharp angle develops between the rear bumper of the vehicle and the forward end portion of the trailer. Impact or contact between the trailer and the bumper of the vehicle can mar or dent the bumper, which is often made of plastic. Even though such damage is usually relatively minor or only slightly disfiguring, it can be expensive to repair and it can detract from the appearance of the vehicle.
Previously, we developed a very effective towing hitch extension as shown and described in our copending application Ser. No. 10/615,315, the content and disclosure of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. That towing hitch extension is attached to a towing hitch and is adapted to protect the rear bumper of a towing vehicle. Yet, even when a trailer hitch is associated with such a towing hitch extension, minor vehicular component damage as described above can still sometimes occur.
It would be desirable to avoid such damage by providing a protective cushion assembly which can absorb the energy of relatively minor impacts between the vehicle bumper and the trailer during operation or use of a towing hitch.
We have now found that such damage can be avoided by a new and very useful protective cushion assembly that is preferably located in spaced, adjacent relationship relative to a towing hitch.